Moscow Farewell

by George Feifer

This profoundly erotic, profoundly compelling (The Los Angeles Times) account of an American students adventures in Russia is a classic revelation of her eternal qualities. The unforgettable cast of characters is led by his beautiful, capricious girlfriend and a supreme hedonist who has been called The Russian Falstaff. Submerged in the supposedly puritan countrys private devotion to food, drink, sex, and despair, the narrator, a London reviewer found, seems to catch the soul of the Soviet citizen. Feifer is possibly unique, a second London critic delighted, for having written a book with several layers of brilliance.

Genres: Russia, Nonfiction, Memoir

460 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 1976

About the author

George Feifer was a journalist and author who wrote about the Soviet Union.

Reviews

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moscow Farewell is brilliant, humorous and full of numerous tragedies. As an American student studying in Cold War-era Moscow, Feifer has a better vantage point on the Soviet Union than almost any other American, and provides a personal account of the complex culture he encounters. At one point in the book he believes he has discovered a Tolstoy book that is completely unknown to the Western world. For me, Moscow Farewell is that similarly undiscovered gem, and is definitely one of the best books I have ever read. Highly recommended!

[Kailey Clifford · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had so much potential and did not live up to any of it. If you can get past the 200 pages dedicated to the author repetitively bragging about having orgies with teenage girls and then treating his girlfriend badly because he romanticizes her and she can’t live up to his ideals, you will find a really beautiful friendship between the narrator and Alyosha. However after this, the text winds down in a very open ended and disappointing way. I think Feifer was able to come up with some gorgeous observations on Russian life and Soviet era Russians, but unfortunately his view of himself as Holden Caufield stops him from learning anything in his constant mistakes. I could try to forgive his horrific misogyny (the book was written 50 years ago and I understand that things have changed) but he centers so much of the book on women that it’s impossible. He fetishizes Russian women to no end, and finds them “mysterious” and “unpredictable” when they don’t happen to respond the way he wants them to or imagines they will. I think other guys who were around during this time and peaked somewhere in this time period would read this and go “hell yeah”. Otherwise, it sucks that a really beautiful story and also a clear opportunity for a journey of self improvement that could’ve wrapped up this text perfectly is wasted on this guy. basically, he is a man who knows how to write a book but has nothing truthful to say.

[Caroline Weber · Rating 3 out of 5]

An immature, spoiled young American goes to Moscow to (not) study, and discovers sex and orgies and perhaps the love - if not loves - of his life.

It's repulsive and voyeuristic, and yet manages to perhaps reveal life in Moscow in the 1960s. And it ends up reminding me a lot of a dear friend of mine who may have been a lot like Alyosha, and who also passed away far too young.

So I love the book for bringing my friend back to life. I can't decide whether to keep it or burn it. Perhaps I will just find another friend to whom I can pass it along.

[Nancy H · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have had this novel on my shelves for a long time, and I finally got to it. I thought it was going to be much better than it was. I found it extremely depressing to read about 1970s Russia, and the plot involving Alyosha, Anastasia, and the young American living in Russia is just downright horrible. There is no joy in love as one would expect - it is love on a friend-level as well as on a romantic level, and neither one works out and both have sad, depressing ends.